Diane, Mark and I met up on a beautiful (hot) day in October down by the Brooklyn Bridge to take some classic engagement photos for their wedding coming up later this year. The last time I spoke in depth with them, they were either going to get married on vacation in East Africa, or during the holidays in Nashville, Tennessee where Mark is from. But whichever continent they decide to get married in, it will be the beginning of something amazing, I’m sure.

The two met a couple years back and have been going strong ever since. Avid bike riders, they are out and about in Brooklyn most times so we decided to have the shoot there, with the bridges serving as the backdrop and the beautiful couple in the foreground. We finished off the session back in their home neighborhood where their dog joined us for a bit and got a couple of shots strolling around the block – one happy family.

All in all, I had a wonderful time getting to know these two and I’m sure Diane and Mark had a great time as well (I hope!). Throughout the session they were so fun-loving and playful with each other. I hope that never changes, as it was a pleasure for me to witness and photograph.

Enjoy the photos, everyone!

~Jase

]]>http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2017/10/12/diane-mark-dumbo-engagement-session-brooklyn-wedding-photography/feed/02192blog-0001blog-0002blog-0003blog-0004blog-0005blog-0006blog-0007blog-0008blog-0009blog-0010blog-0011JINNY + CHONG (NYC Manhattan Wedding Photography – Waldorf Astoria New York)http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2017/09/14/jinny-chong-nyc-manhattan-wedding-photography-waldorf-astoria-new-york/
http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2017/09/14/jinny-chong-nyc-manhattan-wedding-photography-waldorf-astoria-new-york/#respondThu, 14 Sep 2017 16:49:22 +0000http://www.blog.jasekim.com/?p=2150Continue reading →]]>Jinny and Chong got married this past summer, at one of the most iconic hotels in Manhattan, the Waldorf Astoria. As you may have heard, the Waldorf will soon be undergoing a massive renovation project, with its towers becoming a residence along with other improvements with the hotel. So with that in mind, it was great to be able to photograph this landmark one more time before its makeover.

What I was able to witness was an intimate, moving and touching ceremony of two people madly in love, playful with each other any chance they could get, and who share a deep bond with each other that keeps them inseparable.

One of the things I love about Manhattan weddings, besides the obvious beauty, is how it intrinsically pushes one to be more creative, to act quickly on inspiration, and to feed off the energy of the hustle and bustle. There is no greater city in the world for an artist, or for anyone for that matter.

Jinny and Chong chose to have only the closest of family in attendance to celebrate, which allowed for absolute intimacy and an emotionally charged day. My goal was to help capture that and I hope it comes across in the sample of photos I’m displaying. I’m extremely delighted to share these with you and I hope you enjoy.

Congratulations once again to Jinny and Chong. They were an amazing couple to work with, full of class and grace, which you can see here.

Have a great one, everybody.

~Jase

]]>http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2017/09/14/jinny-chong-nyc-manhattan-wedding-photography-waldorf-astoria-new-york/feed/02150blog-0001blog-0002blog-0003blog-0005blog-0006blog-0007blog-0008blog-0009blog-0010blog-0011blog-0012blog-0013blog-0014blog-0015blog-0016blog-0017blog-0018blog-0020blog1blog-0022blog-0021blog-0024blog-0025blog-0026blog-0027blog-0029blog-0030blog-0031blog-0033blog-0034blog-0035blog-0036blog2BRIAN + BRAD (Westchester Wedding – The Inn at Pound Ridge)http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2017/08/24/brian-brad-westchester-wedding-the-inn-at-pound-ridge/
http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2017/08/24/brian-brad-westchester-wedding-the-inn-at-pound-ridge/#respondThu, 24 Aug 2017 18:16:08 +0000http://www.blog.jasekim.com/?p=2126Continue reading →]]>What’s new everyone? Today’s blog is special for me, as Brian is one of my brother’s oldest and dearest friends, from all way back in high school. I was happy to hear when my brother told me Brian was getting married, and even happier when I got an email from him one day inquiring about my services.

Brian and Brad have been together for over six years I believe, and I was honored to document and witness their wedding day. My brother was unable to make the big day so I suppose I was serving as a sort of proxy for him in addition to being the photographer haha.

Our day began at the Hyatt Regency in Stamford, Connecticut where Brian and Brad were both getting ready. Then after the first look we headed to Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s The Inn at Pound Ridge for the ceremony and reception. There, we met up with Brian and Brad’s closest friends and family, an intimate gathering for a cozy celebration of two people’s love for each other.

What a gorgeous day and event it was, and it was my absolute pleasure to record it for them (oh yeah, almost forgot but the food was pretty phenomenal, as expected). I wish nothing but the best for them, they deserve it.

~Jase

]]>http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2017/08/24/brian-brad-westchester-wedding-the-inn-at-pound-ridge/feed/02126bb blog0100bb blog0002bb blog0003bb blog0004bb blog0005bb blog0006bb blog0007bb blog0008bb blog0009bb blog0010bb blog0011bb blog0012bb blog0013bb blog0014bb blog0015bb blog0016bb blog0017bb blog0018TINA + EDDIE (NYC Manhattan Central Park Wedding Photography – Tavern on the Green, W Hotel in Hoboken, NJ)http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2017/03/02/tina-eddie-nyc-manhattan-central-park-wedding-photography/
http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2017/03/02/tina-eddie-nyc-manhattan-central-park-wedding-photography/#respondThu, 02 Mar 2017 18:49:39 +0000http://www.blog.jasekim.com/?p=2207Continue reading →]]>Back in the Fall, which seems like so long ago, Tina and Eddie tied the knot in a gorgeous ceremony in Central Park. Rain was falling ever so lightly throughout the morning, but it held off miraculously during the ceremony and only started back up when we were finishing up the family portraits. If that isn’t good timing, I don’t know what is. I’d like to think I had a hand in keeping the rains away during the most important parts of the day, but that would be a complete and utter lie. But I’ll take it nonetheless. Not that the rain would’ve stopped the joy and happiness of the day anyways.

An afternoon post-wedding lunch and cocktail was served at the Tavern on the Green and once the rains stopped again, we made our way out for more photos. The evening began and ended at the W in Hoboken, which was filled with dancing, endless drinks, delicious eats from Dark Side of the Moo food truck and most importantly of all, Tina and Eddie and their beautiful friends and family.

With that said, enjoy the photos and have a wonderful day!

~Jase

]]>http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2017/03/02/tina-eddie-nyc-manhattan-central-park-wedding-photography/feed/02207blog 0023blog 0001blog 0002blog 0003blog 0004blog 0005blog 0006blog 0007blog 0008blog 0009blog 0010blog 0011blog 0012blog 0013blog 0014blog 0015blog 0016blog 0017blog 0018blog 0019blog 0020blog 0021blog 0022blog 0025Anna + Sean Family Portrait Session (Williamsburg, Brooklyn Family Portrait Photography)http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2016/08/09/anna-sean-family-portrait-session-williamsburg-brooklyn-family-portrait-photography/
http://www.blog.jasekim.com/2016/08/09/anna-sean-family-portrait-session-williamsburg-brooklyn-family-portrait-photography/#respondTue, 09 Aug 2016 18:29:25 +0000http://www.blog.jasekim.com/?p=2109Continue reading →]]>A few years back, I had the pleasure and honor to photograph Anna and Sean’s wedding at My Moon in Brooklyn. You can read more about them here. I still remember the amazing time we had and I was elated to get an email from Sean one day, wanting to plan a surprise family photo session since Anna’s parents were in town and their baby boy, Gibson had just turned the old age of… one.

We spent a couple hours hanging out and walking around their neighborhood, Williamsburg, and had a fantastic time doing so on a glorious summer afternoon. It was great to get reacquainted with such a wonderful, growing family. Below are a few images from the shoot, please enjoy!

I wanted to introduce to you today to Josie and Spencer, two fantastically lovely people whose wedding I was fortunate enough to capture at Tappan Hill Mansion in Tarrytown, NY.

I first met these two over wine and pasta last year in the Upper West Side and to be quite honest, I wasn’t sure by the end of the meeting whether or not I had a good shot at booking them. Their poker faces are pretty good, I think, not to mention that Josie went to White Plains High School, which was crosstown rivals (more like down the street) with my alma mater, Archbishop Stepinac. But at the same time, I was never any good with predicting whether or not a couple will go with me after the initial meeting. There have definitely been times where I left thinking it was in the bag and then boom, disappointment later. This one happened to go the other way, and I’m grateful it did because it afforded me the opportunity to get to know these two and we had a wonderful time celebrating on the wedding day.

As with any Abigail Kirsch catered affair, it was a first class event with the decor only overshadowed by the wonderful couple. While there were quite a number of guests, it still felt intimate with a dash of celebration and wonderment.

The day was full of love, smiles, cheer and even a dinosaur impression. Yeah, you had to be there. But in case you weren’t, here are some images to satiate your curiosity.

Sing like no one is listening.Love like you’ve never been hurt.Dance like nobody’s watching,And live like it’s heaven on earth.

Of course you do. Every girl had a poster that had those lines in their dorm rooms in college, right next to their Anne Geddes photo of babies dressed up all weird, which was right next to the Footprints poster, which was next to a Precious Moments drawing. Hey, us guys were even worse. We all had the John Belushi College poster, next to a blacklight Cypress Hill poster with an oversized marijuana leaf, next to a poster of Tupac, which was next to a poster of a hot chick on a Corvette. Ahh, college…

But those lines above never rang more true than with Jackie and Jonathan. Over the course of the year we got to know each other pretty well. Jackie is a gorgeous and fit young lady with high energy and is always smiling, while Jonathan is a tatted up, hulking figure and/but is one of the nicest, friendliest and happiest guys I’ve ever met. As soon as I met these two, I knew they were perfect for each other and the more I got to know them, the stronger I felt about that.

So a few entries back, you can see their engagement session which we did on Coney Island. That was a mere appetizer to the amount of fun and awesomeness that we would have on the actual wedding day.

It was an absolutely spectacular day weather-wise, only eclipsed by the breathtaking wedding ceremony and reception. Much love goes to Laura and her company, VOW Weddings for organizing, creating and inspiring such a magnificent event. Sometimes a coordinator can be your worst enemy (especially the amateur ones on ill power trips… don’t even get me started), but most other times they can be the photographer’s best friend. Laura obviously falls in the latter category. Absolutely love love love working with her.

I think one of my favorite moments of that day was when Jackie and Jonathan were checking out the reception room as the staff at Bridgeview Yacht Club were putting on the finishing touches and the DJ’s were warming up their equipment. Jackie and Jonathan got so caught up in the moment they just started dancing, and I mean the type of dancing you see on Dancing with the Stars or something. They’re really good dancers! And there was almost literally no one watching… it was just the two of them, lost in each other… and me snapping away, of course. It was so beautiful to see and I’m glad to have captured it. It’s one of my favorite aspects of wedding photography – catching intimate, genuine moments that reflect their relationship with each other. I’ve included a couple of those shots in this entry for you to see.

Anyways, enough of my yapping… on with the show! Ladies and gents, I present to you Jackie and Jonathan… dancing when no one is watching, living like it was heaven on earth.

I’m always extolling the virtues of being a Jase Kim Photography bridal couple… the amazingness of my brides and grooms, the uniqueness and individuality of their ceremony and receptions, the interesting and captivating stories of their lives. Carolyn and Flavio are no different and it was a privilege documenting their big day with their family and friends.

It was great to work with Carolyn’s family again (I had previously shot her sister’s wedding a few years back) as well as getting to know and work with Flavio’s. Their bridal party was super fun and awesome to work with the entire day and we couldn’t ask for anything more as far as weather was concerned.

Everyone came dressed to the nines and ready to party. The ceremony was full of culture and custom and the reception was full of energy and smiles. All in all, an absolutely wonderful day for an even more wonderful couple.

*might be a made up word, but I adore the definition. It’s a word I think should be populated more often. Sure beats the hell out of “Bae” and “Yaaaaaasss.”

*****

So I’m on this dating website, right, and I send a message to this girl whose profile really resonated with me. She’s pretty, seems kind and has a really refreshing outlook on life. I notice that one of her favorite books is also one of my favorites so I used that as an ice breaker along with a little sample of my biting wit (yeah, right).

For those lucky enough not to be familiar with online dating, for dudes, 99.99999% of the time, you won’t hear back, unless you’re a ridiculously good looking dude, of which I am not. It’s the online equivalent of tumbleweeds rolling by in a ghost town combined with crickets chirping, laughing… at you. You can’t take it personally, even though it’s all one hundred percent purely personal, leaving yourself vulnerable for rejection time and time again, over and over and over, only to wake up the next day to do it again… like Sisyphus… rolling that boulder up the hill we call “love” only to see it roll back down and to repeat for the rest of eternity. And that’s being optimistic.

Anyways, she wrote back.

“YAAAASSSS! Wait, there must be something wrong with her,” I immediately thought. I kid. Anyways, it went something like, “Haha, bla bla bla book, bla bla bla bla bla book bla. So, what about photography do you love the most? By the way, you’re incredibly good looking!” (That last part I added).

My response went something like, “Bla bla bla, bla bla book, bla bla bla bla bla. Haha. Lol. But what I love most about photography is the people I meet. Whether they’re my brides and grooms or some of the bigwig movers and shakers of this world, getting to know people from all walks of life and being a part of their lives for that moment is endlessly rewarding. Bla bla bla, witty banter bla bla, what about you? ;)”

Or something to that effect.

And what I said is no lie. I feel like I constantly repeat myself on this blog whenever I’m writing about one of my brides and grooms and about how awesome they are, but it’s true. Melissa and Dan are no different!

Their day began in midtown, where they were getting ready and we moved on over to Central Park for their first look on the world renowned Gapstow Bridge. We then took a stroll through the park with the bridal party and got a few nice shots in (if I say so myself) and before we knew it, it was time to head to Upper Story by Charlie Palmer to get hitched and to party!

All in all, it was a wonderful day with people coming from far and wide (Melissa is from Australia so there was a large Aussie presence from her friends and family… though there was nary an “Aussie Aussie Oy Oy Oy” on that day, much to my dismay). Like with manymost all of my couples, I left the event not tired and spent, but rather, exuberant and energized from getting to know such a fantastic couple and having witnessed a beautiful moment in their lives.

Sonder… it’s for a brief moment, but it’s that moment that matters the most. And that is what I love most about my job.

*****

Oh yeah, and in case you were wondering, I never heard back from that girl. That’s online dating in a nutshell. What can you do, besides getting back to rolling that boulder up that hill. One day it won’t roll back down.

Oh, did I mention Melissa and Dan met online? Look how they turned out. I’d say they made out pretty damn well!